Stone picker



2, 1951 H. J. HUHNE 2,569,719

STONE PICKER Filed Dec. 16, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR lwfir Huh m5 )7fl772mm6mm v 19 ATTORNEY H. J. HUH NE 2,569,719

STONE PICKER Filed Dec. 16, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 N VENTOR 103 1 2 bis/yard Hwy/v:

BY J! ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STONE PICKER Henry J. Huhne, Melrose, Application December 16, 1949, Serial No. 133,308

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to stone pickers, and more particularly to a mobile machine which can be moved over cultivated land to remove from the top portion of the land substantially all stones within a predetermined range of sizes and deposit such stones at selected locations.

. It is among the objects of the invention to provide a mobile stone gathering or picking machine of simplified and durable construction which can be hitched to a conventional farm tractor for movement over land to be cleared of stones, and driven by the tractor power take-off connection to raise the stones from the land and place them in a receptacle from which they can be dumped at selected locations, which will gather substantially all the stones within a predetermined size range on or near the surface of the land, but will not be stopped or broken upon encountering highly resistant obstacles, such as large stones, stumps and underground structures, which will pass stones of various sizes and in difierent quantities therethrough without becoming clogged and without damage to the machine, and which is economical to manufacture, easy to operate, and not subject to malfunctioning in use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a mobile stone picking machine illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine illustrated in Figure l, a portion being broken away and shown in cross section to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross section on the line 44 of Figure 2 showing one of the pair of conveyor structures of the machine elevated above the other of the pair of conveyor structures; and

, Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of a fragmentary portion of the machine showing a structural detail.

With continued reference to the drawings, the machine comprises a substantially rectangular frame I0 formed of suitable materiahsuch as channel iron, and of rigid construction. A tongue I I extends forwardly from the front end cross member I2 of the frame substantially at the mid-length location of the cross member and is supported by diagonal braces I 3 and I 4 extending from the tongue near the front end of the latter to the opposite front corners of the frame.

A hitch structure I5 is secured on the front end of the tongue for attachment to the tow bar of a conventional farm tractor.

A pair of struts I6 projects downwardly from the frame at the rear end of the frame, and one at each side thereof, and a rear axle I1 is supported below the rear end of the frame by these struts. A pair of ground engaging wheels I8 is journaled on the rear axle, one at each end of the axle.

A sub-frame I9, somewhat shorter than the main frame I9, is pivotally connected at its rear end to the rear end of the main frame by suitable pivot pins 20, and a platform 2| is disposed within and supported by the sub-frame I9 immediately below the main frame II]. The sub-frame and platform normally incline downwardly and forwardly from the rear end of the main frame, as illustrated in Figures 3 and l, and two hydraulic lift devices 22 and 23 are connected between the front end of the sub-frame, one at each side thereof, and themain frame for lifting the subframe to a location at which it is substantially disposed within the main frame. Each of the hydraulic lift devices includes a cylinder I I0 pivotally supported on the sub-frame I9 and a reciprocable piston rod II I carrying a piston head, not shown, connected to the main frame.

A guide assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 25, is provided between the main frame I 0 and the sub-frame I9 at the front end of the latter and contiguous to each side thereof, each guide assembly including a compression spring 26 for resiliently limiting movement of the front end of the sub-frame downwardly away from the main frame.

A plurality of stone picking fingers 2! are mounted below the platform 2| in spaced apart, substantially parallel relationship to each other and extend substantially parallel to the platform and forwardly of the front edge of the latter. These fingers are preferably in the form of long straight metal bars of circular cross-sectional shape and they extend ahead of the platform 2| and sub-frame I9 a distance such that when the sub-frame is in its lowered position, as illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4, the front ends of these fingers dig into the ground just ahead of the front end of the sub-frame and platform assembly. The spacing between these fingers is such that small pebbles will fall between the fingers and be left on the land, but all stones within a Ithe stones, .and power operated means are pro-' area from which the stones are to be removed.

These fingers 21 are slidably mounted in apertures provided in two angle iron brackets 28 and 2B which extend transversely of the platform 2| with the bracket 28 at the front end, and the bracket 28' near the rear end of the platform. A head or nut 29 is provided on the rear end of each finger to bear against the rearward side of the rear bracket 28 and limit forward movement of the finger, and a compression spring 30 surrounds each finger between the two brackets 28 and 28'. The rear end of each spring bears against the rear bracket 28 while the front end of each spring bears against an abutment 3| carried by the corresponding finger so that rearward movement of the fingers is resiliently resisted by the springs 30. The strength of the springs .30 i such that the fingers will be held in their forwardly V projected position to pick up stones within :the

predetermined range of sizes for which the machine isdesigned, but when oneoof the fingers enfingers encounter a resistant obstruction and the machine will not be broken or damaged.

is journaled in the apertures I20, I21 in these bars. This rod 43 has, on the end adjacent the bar 35, a downwardly extending crank arm '44, the free end of which is connected by a link 45 to the adjacent end of the shaft 40, and has, on the end adjacent the bar 38, a similar crank arm 46, the free end of which is connected by a link 4'? to the adjacent end of the shaft 49, the operation of the rod 33 and links 45 and 41 being to maintain the shaft 4|]. substantially parallel to the main frame and the platform 2| as this shaft rises and descends in the guideways provided by the standards 3334 and 363'|. Two conveyor 49 by means to be subsequently described and ex- 7 tend forwardly from this shaft in side-by-side With the construction ,so far described, stones will be lifted out of the ground by the fingers and pushed rearwardlylon the fingers onto the platform .Zl.

A suitable box or receptacle 32 is providedat the rear end-of the receptacle to receive vided above'the platform for moving the stones rearwardly over the platform from the fingers 2'! into the box or receptacle'32. 'A' pair of standards 33 and is secured at their bottom ends to theside'memberil l4 of the main frame in and project upwardly substantially per- .pendicularly to the main frame. These standards 7 :are spaced apart and substantially parallel to provide a guideway atone side of the main frame -10, the purpose of which will be presently .ex-

plained, and a..bar 35 is connected by means of pins H6, 1 l1 to the upper ends of the standards :33 and .34 :and extends rearwardly of the rear standard '34.

The standards '33 and 34 may be -ward1y from the frame member H5 in spaced,-

apart parallel relationship :to. provide a substan- ;tially vertical guideway :at the other side of. the .maln frame. A bar 38 is connected by means of pins |.|8,-| L9 to the upper ends of the two standards 35 and 31 and extends rearwardly of the rear standard 31. The twoguide assemblies, above described, are positioned near the rear end of the main frame, and a conveyor shaft :40 extends transversely above the main framenear the rear end of the latter and has its ends slidably received gin the two above described guide assemblies.

i'bearing sleeve or roller Al is mounted on the shaft '40 at the end of'the shaft disposed between the .aards, whilea similar bearing sleeve 42 is mounted on the shaft at its opposite end and disposed bestandards 33 and 34, and contacts these standtween the standards 36 and 31. The bars 35 and :138 are provided with apertures, designated by reference numerals I20, ;|2| respectively, near their :crearwardends, and a rod 43 extends. through and.

half the width of the platform and symmetrically,

located relative to the corresponding longitudinal halves Of the platform. These side walls are disposed substantially perpendicularto the platform 2|, and are provided with outwardly extending ,fianges |22, I23, Figure 3, along their top and bottom edges,'the top and bottom flanges of each side wall diverging at a small angle from the rear .to the front end of the side Wall, and the top flange in being longer than the bottom flange I23 so that the front edge of each side wall is inclined upwardly and forwardly, as is clearly il- =lustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4 and designated by the reference numeral I24. A flat bottom wall 53 is secured to the bottom edge flanges of the two side walls 5!! and 5|, and a reinforcing strut or brace 54, Figure 2, extends perpendicularly between the two side walls intermediate their length and is rigidly secured to the side walls at its opposite ends, the points of securement to the side walls 50, 5| being designated by the reference numerals E25, M5. In the case of the structure 48, particularly illustrated in Figure 2, an arm 55 extends'rearwardly from the rear end of the side wall 5!] and has the adjacent end secured :thereto by bracket 521' and has the other end provided with an eye I28 surrounding the shaft 40, :While a similar arm 55 extends rearwardly from the rear end of the side wall 5| and has the adjacent end secured thereto by a bracket I29 and has the other end provided with an eye I30 which ,also receives the shaft 49 near the left-hand end of the shaft. The arms 55 and 56 are spread apart at their rearward ends, and a large roller :51 is coaxially mounted on the shaft 40 between *structure 49, and the rollers 51 and 59 constitute the rear rollers of two side-by-side conveyorassemblies.

A'front upper roller 5!} is journaled by means of a shaft |3| on the conveyor structure 48 at the front end of the-upper edges of the side walls 50* and 5|, and is substantially parallel to the roller 51, and a lower front rollerBl is journaled by means of a shaft I32 on the structure 48 at the front ends of the lower edges of the side walls 58 and 5!, and is also substantially parallel to the rear roller 51. The structure 49 is similarly provided with an upper front roller 62, and a lower front roller 83. An endless flexible conveyor belt 64 is trained around the rollers 51, 68 and 8 I, and

a similar endless conveyor belt 65 is trained around therollers 59, 62 and 63.

I With this arrangement, the rear ends of both conveyor assemblies are movable together toward and away from the platform 2|, while the front ends of the two conveyor assemblies are individually movable toward and away from the platform. This provides free movement of the conveyor assemblies toward and away from the platform so that stones of different sizes and piles of stones and other debris can be passed through the machine without clogging or choking the machine.

In order to facilitate movement of the material such as stones and debris rearwardly of the platform 2| by the conveyor belts, these belts are provided with spaced apart, transversely extending slats r ridges 66 which engage the material on the platform and move it rearwardly, the conveyors being so driven that the upper flights of the conveyor belts move forwardly, and the lower flights, adjacent the platform, move rearwardly.

In order to guide the front ends of the conveyor assemblies in their upward and downward movements, a standard 61 is secured at its lower end to the side member I I4 of the main frame In at a location near the front end of the main frame, and a similar standard 68 is secured at its lower end to the side member II of the main frame in a corresponding position. These standards 61 and 68 extend upwardly from the main frame side members H4, H5 substantially perpendicular to the latter, and a beam 69 is secured at its ends I 33, I34 to the upper ends of the standards El and 68 and extends transversely of the machine above the conveyor assemblies.

The standards 61 and 68 are provided with apertures I 35, I36 near their upper ends, and apertured angle brackets I0 and II are secured to the beam 69 at opposite sides of and contiguous to the mid-length location of the beam, the point of securement of the angle brackets I0, II being designated by reference numerals I31, I38. crank rod E2 is journaled at one end in the standard 51, and at its opposite end in the bracket 18, and has at its opposite ends forwardly and downwardly extending cranks I3 and I4, the free ends of which are connected by the adjustable links l5 and I5 to the opposite sides of the conveyor structure 43. A similar crank rod I1 is rotatably supported at one end in the standard 68, and at its opposite end in the bracket II, and has forwardly and downwardly extending cranks "I8 and I9 at its opposite ends, the free ends of which cranks are connected by the adjustable links 80 and 8! to the opposite sides of the conveyor structure 48. The crank rods I2 and I1 maintain the front ends of the conveyor assemblies substantially parallel to the platform as these assemblies are raised and lowered by the passage of stones between the convyor assemblies and the platform, and the adjustable links provide a means for adjusting the distance between fife platform and the front ends of the conveyor assemblies.

A large beveled gear 82 is secured on the shaft 48 substantially at the mid-length location of the shaft, and the end of the roller 59 adjacent the roller 51 is recessed to receive this gear; A bearing sleeve 83 is provided with a pair of spaced apart lugs 84 and 85 which receive the shaft 40 to support the bearing sleeve on the shaft while permitting free rotation of the shaft 40 relative to the bearing sleeve. The bearing sleeve 83 is positioned forwardly of the shaft 48, and with its rear end adjacent the periphery of the beveled gear 82, and a drive shaft 85 is journaled at one end in the bearing sleeve 83 and is rotatably supported near its opposite or front end in bracket 8! which is secured to the front cross member I2 of the main frame. A beveled pinion 88 is secured on the rear end of the drive shaft 86, and a universal joint 83 is secured on the front end of the drive shaft and connected to a drive rod 98 which extends to the power take-off connection of a tractor to which the stone picking machine is connected.

The receptacle or dump box 32 is an elongated hollow structure having an open top side, a substantially straight rear wall 8|, an arcuately curved front wall 92, and an open-Work bottom 93, Figure 2, preferably formed of spaced apart rods I38 supported by transverse battens I39 so that any earth carried into this box with the stones picked up by the machine will fall from the box back onto the land. The box is pivotally connected by pins I48 at its upper rear corners to the rear ends of the right and left-side frame members of the main frame, and the front wall 92 is curved on an are centered on the commonaxis 0f the pivotal connections between the dump box and the machine frame. The box has straight end walls I4I, I42 marginally joined to the rear,

front and bottom walls, and an upwardly and forwardly curved arm 94 is secured to the end wall I 42 adjacent the rear wall 9I. An expansible chamber hydraulic device 95 is connected between the upper end of the arm 34 and the upper end of a bracket 96 which projects upwardly from the adjacent side member of the main frame. A similar upwardly and forwardly curved arm 91 is secured to the end wall I4I of the dump box near the rear wall 9|, and an expansible chamber device 98 is connected between the upper end of the arm 9! and the upper end of a bracket 98 which projects upwardly from the adjacent side member of the main frame.

The two expansible chamber hydraulic devices 95 and 98 are connected by suitable hydraulic lines, as indicated at I 35?, by well-known. means to a tractor hydraulic pump sothat by operation of the tractor hydraulic control valve the expansible chamber devices 95 and 98 can be operated to dump the dump box 32 under the manual control of the operator.

With this arrangement, the stones can be picked up from the field or other area and deposited in the dump box 32 and when the box has received a sufficient quantity of stones, the machine can be taken to a selected location where the stones can be dumped. The dumped stones may be used for various purposes such as filling in ravines and depressions in the land, or may be moved from the area for use in various ways such as providing concrete aggregate.

A plurality of forwardly extending U-shaped brackets IIlI are secured to the front side of the transversely extending angle bracket 21, and the legs of these brackets receive an axle shaft I82 extending longitudinally of the bracket 21 and transversely of the front edge of the platform 2| below the latter. One bracket IIlI is mounted between each two adjacent fingers 21, and a.

asea'rio rol1erl03'is disposed between the two-legs of each bracket and journaled on the shaft 102. These rollers support the front edge of the platform and support the fingers 21 on the surface of the ground so that the front ends of the fingers do not dig into the ground beyond a predetermined extent. A separator bar I04 is secured at its front end to the middle finger 21 at the front end of the latter, and extends rearwardly along this middle finger and abovethe platform 2| in the space between the two side-by-side conveyor assemblies to prevent stones from accumulating in this space. V

The lift devices 22 and 23 also comprise a pair 'of'expansible chamber hydraulic devices, and hydraulic lines, as indicated at 105, are provided for connecting these lift devices to the hydraulic pump of the tractor. When'the lift devices 22 'and 2B -are operated, they lift the subframe is, the platform 21 and the fingers 21 upwardly so that the front ends of the fingers are supported abovethe ground, and the machine can be transported from place-to-place without operating.

During such transportation of th machine the power to the tractor power take-off connection a will, of course, be discontinued.

V The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the

scope of the invention being indicated by th appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all change which come within the meaning and range of equivalency'of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

'1. In a stone picking machine including a wheel supported frame, a platform disposed within and supported by said frame in a forwardly and downwardly inclined position, a conveyor ,mounted on said frame and disposed immediately above said platform, conveyor driving means car-1 ried by said frame, and a receptacle carried by said frame at the rear end of said platform to receive stones moved along said platform by said conveyor, apertured brackets disposed below said platform and extending transversely thereof, one

near the front and one near the rear end of the platform, rod-like fingers slidably mounted in said brackets and disposed in spaced apart and substantially parallel relationship below said platform with their forwardly disposed ends projecting beyond the front end of saidplatform, springs connected one between each of said fingers and one of said brackets resiliently urging said fingers in a forward direction relative to said brackets and said platform, and limit stops carried one by each finger and engaging one of said brackets to limit the spring induced forward movement of said fingers relative to said brackets.

2.111 a stone picking machine including a wheel supported frame, a platform disposed within and supported by said frame in'a forwardly and downwardly inclined position, a conveyor mounted on said frame and disposed immediately abov said platform, conveyordriving means:

carried by said frame, and a receptacle carried by said frame at the rear end of said platform to a receive stones moved along said platform by said conveyor, apertured brackets disposed below said platform and extending transverselythereof, one near the front and one near the rear end of the platform, rod-like fingers slidably mounted in said brackets and disposed in spaced apart and substantially parallel relationship below said platform with their forwardly disposed ends prosaid limit stops comprising heads on the rearwardly disposed ends of said fingers engaging the bracket adjacent the rear end of said platform.

.3. In a stone-pickingmachine includinga wheel supported frame, a platform disposed within and supported by said framein a forwardly and downwardly inclined position, a conveyor mounted on said frame and disposed immediately above said platform, conveyor driving means carried by said frame, and a'receptacle carried by said frame at therear end of said platform to receive stones moved along said platform by said conveyor, apertured brackets disposed below said platform and extending transversely thereof, one near the front and one near the rear end of the platform, rod-like fingers slidably mounted in said brackets and disposed in spaced apart and substantially parallel relationship below said platform with their forwardly disposed ends projecting beyond'the front end of said platform,

each of said springs comprising a coil compression spring surrounding the portion of the corresponding finger between said brackets;

HENRY J. I-IUHNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 990,726 Gettman Apr. 25,1911 1,425,0'7-8 Clark Aug. 8, 1922 1,723,608 Dott et a1. Aug. 6, 1929 2,042,193 7 Schema s May 26, 1936 2,466,084 Davi Apr. 5, 1949. 2,479,719 Boylan Aug. 23, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 461,574 France Oct. 31, 1913 

